The Oath of Vengeance against the American people and the Government for the death of Joseph Smith was a very important part of the temple ceremony for many years. Because of this temple ceremony vow of vengeance upon this nation, a protest was filed in 1903 in the United States Senate to have Reed Smoot, a Mormon Apostle who had been elected a Senator from Utah, removed from office on the grounds that he had taken this treasonous oath in the endowment ritual. It became the subject of a United States Senate Investigation.

The complete record of this episode was published in U.S. Senate Document 486 (59th Congress, 1st Session) Proceedings Before the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate in the Matter of the Protests Against the Right of Reed Smoot, a Senator from the State of Utah, to hold his Seat. 4 vols. [1 vol. index] Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906).

John Hawley made these statements in his testimony concerning the Smoot investigation:

John Hawley

"I went to Salt Lake City in 1856. They gave the endowments of washing and anointing, and then there was an oath taken in Utah to avenge the blood of the prophet... In taking the endowments at Salt Lake there was the oath required, and the oath that was required was to 'avenge the death or blood of the prophet.' We were made to swear to avenge the death of Joseph Smith the Martyr, together with that of his brother Hyrum, on this American nation, and that we should teach our children and children's children to do so. 'The penalty for this grip and oath was disembowelment,' I would not have discussed the method of these endowments when I was a member of the Utah Church. The penalty for revealing or disclosing these secrets was disembowelment. The grips and tokens of the priesthood were what we were not to disclose... I kept the obligation while living in Salt Lake City."LDS COVER-UP VERSION"

Brigham Young stated,"Furthermore, every one who had passed through their endowment, in the Temple, were placed under the most sacred obligation to avenge the blood of the Prophet, whenever an opportunity offered, and to teach their children to do the same, thus making the entire Mormon people sworn and avowed enemies of the American nation." (Confessions of John D. Lee, p. 160)

Brigham Young

Ordered the massacre.

The LDS Church has knowingly sponsored, endorsed, and forever immortalized this butcher into history.

It was a serious matter for a Mormon if they broke the covenants they made in the temple. The threats were real. The Danites saw to it that punishment was swift and without mercy. This oath was one of the reasons that the Mountain Meadow Massacre took place. This oath was finally removed about 1927.